Every winter, the elusive Formosan black bear, Taiwan’s indigenous species, comes to the heart of Yushan National Park for food, giving the region its name as “the realm of bears”. Since 1998, ecologist HWANG Mei-Hsiu has been researching the bears in the harsh terrain with the help of aboriginal hunter LIN as her guide. Those days as a bear chaser have shed light on this rarely-seen national treasure, and also highlighted the problem of illegal hunting.

This documentary is based on the diary HWANG kept during her fieldwork from 1998 to 2000. Filming began in 2011 and used close observation, interviews, research footage and animations to recreate the scenarios, while HWANG recounts the friendly relationship and rapport she had with LIN. Director LEE Hsiang-Hsiu spent six years capturing rare and precious footage including bears in their natural habitat, and even interacting with her camera. The pulses of life and the ever-changing breath of nature are all transported into this beautiful documentary.

Available Formats: DVD, Blu-ray and DCP